1st - liquid grass and thin2nd - grass and a hint of vegetal notes with improved mouthfeel3rd - the best of the four - grass...vegetal...sweetness and touch of astringency.4th - a strange flavored greenish liquid that was difficult to drink

I had this about two years ago and thought it was very grassy...and it is. Very okay...something I did not plan to purchase again and I still feel that way.

This is the only one of the group that I have tried previously. Got that out of the way!

Today's the first time i've been able to brew the tea since getting it. I started out with A3 Maruyama from Maiko. Im a tea noob so I wouldn't take my word to heart so much as other more advanced palates...but here it goes:

1st steep 155 F 90 seconds:To me most of the nuances of flavor comes out in the aftertaste. When it's still in my mouth there is a lot of umami, slightly grassy flavor, vegetal. The aftertaste is very floral and it leaves a slight astringency in my mouth. There is also a very very slight undertone of citrus for me in the aftertaste. The aftertaste lasts a long time and the floral in it reminds me very much of the aftertaste from a jade TGY.

2nd steep 165 F 15 sec.:Umami is less pronounced in mouth, still slightly vegetal, and the aftertaste i was getting from the first steep takes over while it's still in my mouth. In the aftertaste, I'm getting slight hints of a nuttiness. There is a sweetness welling up in the back of my throat. I still think it has the flavors of a very green oolong. Astringency is less pronounced.

3rd steep 172 F 60 seconds:It has a "thinner" taste than the other brews, but still hearty. The umami is very faint now. The floral has completely taken over. The citrusy taste i was getting in the aftertaste from the first brew is gone. No vegetal taste anymore. Sweetness i was getting in the back of my throat in the second brew is gone. There is more astringency in my mouth. All in all the more steeps i do with this the more it just reminds me of a very light roasted oolong mixed in with that Japanese tea flavor.

This was my first ever asamushi. Since I love jade TGY and also Japanese greens, this tea had both for me and it was really nice.

Kunkali, both maruyama from maiko and, to a lesser extent, the asa from den's reminded me of TGY. Not initially, but as you say, in the aftertaste. I really liked maruyama. I'm having hatsumi fukamushi now. First time with a yabukita fukamushi. Much prefer yutaka for this style, but its nice.

2nd steep: 170F 20s. More veggie now, but somewhat less interesting to me. This steep was actually very broth-like. I think it is that fact that there is almost no astringency or bitterness that has made me a bit bored.

3rd steep: 175F 60s. Picking up spinach specifically now. More complex this time, perhaps I messed up the 2nd infusion.

4th steep: 185F 120s. Sweet and broth-y again, not bad but it is fading.

Overall, I was impressed with the Fuji SP and thought the Hachiju-hachiya was somewhat boring. I will give it another session before any judgements are made though.

Today's brew was A 2 hachiju hachiya. I did not enjoy this one as much as the maruyama. Its flavor seemed very one dimensional to me and didn't seem to improve in successive brews. Flavors I caught onto were vegetal, grassy, and very slight floral aftertaste but the floral sort of reminded me of the way certain dryer sheets smell (dunno how else to describe it). It had an astringency that carried through throughout the infusions and the tea left a crisp, clean mouth feel after going down which was pleasant.

All in all the flavor didn't change much other than just getting milder each infusion and it was lacking the complexity and multidimensional flavor of the maruyama, in my opinion.

tortoise wrote:Kunkali, both maruyama from maiko and, to a lesser extent, the asa from den's reminded me of TGY. Not initially, but as you say, in the aftertaste. I really liked maruyama.

So far Maruyama's been my favorite, then TKY is my favorite oolong, so perhaps it was meant to be.

Also had the Hachiju-hachiya and agree with NickE and Kunkali, it was kinda... boring? and not as good as the maruyama. I mean, it was alright, just nothing about it stood out to me.

From the fukas, I've had yame fukamushi, as mentioned earlier I probably have to try it again, and just had miyabi. The miyabi is my 2nd favorite of both OTTIs so far. Definitely grassy, but very sweet as well, especially around the third. Steeped it around 30s for the first though and would probably go longer in the future.

UH-OH. Adagio's Sencha Premier is really good! I'm on my third steeping and it has a ton of flavor still.Too bad it's 39 bucks for 4oz. That's nearly gyo prices. But if I can squeeze two more good steepings out of it, maybe it's worth it...

Appearance: Very deep, dark green in color. There are needles of varying length and thickness and a very small amount of smaller particles.

Aroma: The aroma is mild and grassy. It‘s not very strong. I don‘t know how else to describe it.

1st: 68° C, 90 secondsVery long aftertaste with very noticeable astringency. Sweetness only comes out at the very end. Also some nutty qualities. Leaves me wanting more. Definitely some qualities I don‘t know how to describe. I wouldn‘t necessarily say it‘s very complex but it has something to offer for sure. The mouthfeel is soft, smooth and a little oily (in a pleasant way).Definitely enjoyable and leaves me with a very relaxed feeling.

2nd, 73° C, 20 secondsIt‘s like the aftertaste of the first infusion got stronger and sweeter. It also last for a very long time. Quite nice! Can someone put a name to that initial taste that you get from this infusion? It was very noticeable in Den‘s Yame Fukamushi as well. Can someone who has both confirm that?

The leaves are opening up nicely.

3rd, 79° C, 60 secondsInitial taste is much milder, aftertaste is less sweet. It takes a long time for the sweetness to show. I think this infusion has a very well balanced flavor. It could be the best one yet.The nutty and vegetal qualities are also pronounced. Also, this is nothing for those who hate astringency as there is strong astringency as soon as you‘re done drinking. I personally do like it.

4th, 85° C, 120 secondsVery brothy, soupy. Interesting but not very pleasant to me. It‘s like the initial taste you got from the second and third infusion is multiplied by a factor of ten with some added bitterness and everything else is gone. Very little aftertaste.

I haven‘t made up my mind about this one yet. That's what the second round is for, though, right?